Getting into the mum spirit, three Belton moms give back to students

On Thursday, Oct. 26, moms Christy Reese, Andrea Zuelsdorf, and Robin Shadrick held a mum and garter event at South Belton Middle school.
“We started this event for kids who didn’t have a mum and couldn’t afford to make a mum because mums are expensive.” This was said by original mum maker Reese who is one of the three moms who started the event last year. This is the second annual mum making and passing out event that SBMS has done. Last year, the three mothers made around 80 mums and no garters, which were all taken by the end of the event. Due to the fact that at last year’s event only one boy had shown up to the passing out portion, it was quite a shock to see that this year that number increased by over a dozen. Luckily, the moms were prepared this year and made 30 garters and over 100 different mums. The designs of these eye-catching clothing accessories ranged from simple to glitz and glam. Each mum was carefully designed to give students a wider variety to choose from. Some mums and garters bearing sports ribbons on them to represent a sport and some even having band and spirit. Each child had a choice of mum or garter and could choose five other mini objects to be glued on making it even more personalized.

Sha’ Niyah Washington posing with her freshly made mum for this year’s homecoming.

The students could choose to add more ribbon, mini stars, helmets, and more. They also had the option to add their name which did not count towards the five objects. The school had volunteers helping students glue the different decorations onto their mum bring together the parents, students, and teachers for one great event.
First-time attendee sixth grader Alexis Jones said “I love all the different ideas that come with making a mum and all that you can create. I definitely will do this again next year.”
This event allowed not only upper-level classes to participate, but also first-time middle schoolers join in. This also gave students the opportunity to get involved with the school and meet other students who they may not have met otherwise. The moms who started this mum making event plan to continue this tradition next year. In order to ensure a spot, the students get the announcement over the intercoms, while parents get notified so that students can sign up in ample time to enjoy this new found tradition.